Shetty's Goa Experience

Out in Goa! "THE" place for drugs and alcohol during my addiction... But I am having great fun, having a blast and man I am clean. It's unbelievable watching the sunset, doing yoga & meeting new friends. Been to AA and NA meetings sharing my experience... listening to their experience. New experiences & different ways of being harassed and affected by drugs & alcohol like i had been. Eating Goan food & other styles, but today savor it for what it only is & not for what it feels like with my substance. I went shopping with a lot of money near & around the place for grocery items and cleaning items. I was close to bars & drug pushers, but i don't need to goto them. I am having great fun anyways without it. Thats only pleasure for sometime & then a completely messed up head & guaranteed misery all over again & I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Elrich's Goa Experience

So from CAIM in Bangalore I had a visit to my home house. I stayed there for 15 days with my pals Ami and Vikhram Shetty. The weather was good, much more easier to handle life and sobriety. We all went to NA/AA meetings and shared all our secrets and emotions. It was pleasant, it was peaceful, because in the meetings everyone is so kind everyone feels free to talk for a long time so its nice to hear them speak. Jai also shares a lot, he is 25 years sober. Then at home we cook our own food like omelet and pulao or fish, curry rice. We make our own tea. This is secondary treatment given to us, for those who are very much improving and firm with their sobriety. Also we get counseling from counselors from the UK, who take a one hour class and then also a one to one counseling for those who need it. After that we go roaming with Jai in his car around Goa and return back home and clean up the house and wash clothes. Theres a lot of freedom in secondary treatment as well as love, togetherness and care. Thanks a lot for allowing me to share.

Back in Bangalore

We are back to Bangalore, and I am discussing my life with my family. Looks like the next step for me is a half-way h0use. Hope all that was discussed with Carol and Tom will reflect on a positive outcome. I am trying to be positive about my life and be headed in line with my goals and dreams of life. Vikhram and Elrich are also back and are learning new skills, along with myself I am learning cooking. Hope to see things bright with Vijay and my father.

Goa Recovery

We have been having good sessions here in recovery in Goa. We have had some counselling from UK based counsellors which has been great. I have been able to express my feelings honestly with someone who is impartial of the treatment centre which has been a great relief. Also my counsellor feels I am ready to start intergrating into society which is a great relief. Since I would not like to be in primary rehab for such a long time as I have been in the past. I would like to see myself working and coming back to the treatment centre in the nights, which i hope will happen soon. All in all it has been great inteacting with people who have a different perspective of NA/AA fellowship from the UK.

GOD

God to me means Good Orderly Direction, Group of Drunks, Group of Disfunctionals, basically my understanding of GOD is doing the Good things in life, and a higher power will protect you and look over you guiding you in the proper direction. I know once I started acting positive, positive people came into my life.

Goa Monday

Had a good day today, met someone new from Denmark yesterday, we met her early this morning and she came over to the house and taught us Yoga. We also picked up a patient from Bangalore who had escaped the other day and was just arriving in Goa. All in all was a good day relaxed and cooked some food for everyone. Went for a swim and looking forward to a nice dinner this evening. My emotions were very much under control and was in the postive for the day.

Goa Saturday

Today was great, started the day going to the market in Margoa to hire some labours to do some garden and house cleaning, think we found some good workers. Spent lunch with a local goan who was also new to the fellowship and is 1month clean, he showed us around town and showed us all these great land properties ready for development for 5star resorts. Also went back to his family's hotel which they own showed us the night club he had there which is closed now, and this evening we are spending back on the beach and just relaxing. All in all its been great and I thank god and my higher power for this opourtunity.

Goa Friday's

Today was a great day, started off by perparing breakfast for everyone in the house, then ran out to town to get some supplys for the labourers. Got back to the house and finished of breakfast, hope everyone enjoyed it. Then started off cleaning the floors and the bathroom, I had worked may jobs in my life, but had never put my heart into work. Today cleaning the floors I could see my heart was in it, sweating and labouring in the heat of Goa. Left the house after taking a bath by noon or so and headed to a town called Mapusa, were we had a great lunch in a funny place called Stomach! I was really ammused at the name of the restaurant, quite to the point! Afterwards we went to the Friday market in Mapusa which was awesome, we got deals lik you wouldn't believe! Outfits for like 100RS. Afterwards went to a small beach called Ashwin I believe which is filled with Russians. Then rushed back to Calungute to make an NA meeting, were we all had awesome sharings and spent time at the Coffee Day getting closer to eachother. All in all was a great day, and I thank my higher power for the opourtunity.
God bless

Benaulim Beach

Beautiful Benaulim Beach is where we are spending time now, it is in south Goa, where there is not as much crowd. It has been relaxing and now we are constantly busy with the new house that was aqquired. We are getting the place ready as it has been years since someone has lived in it. Cleaning, and swabbing and removing years of spider webs has been a real task in the heat of Goa. Slowly but surely the work is getting done. Have met some great people from UK at the AA meetings and everyday am trying to meet somebody new. I tried my had at cooking this morning making breakfast for everybody in the house. I hope they enjoyed it. This is like an experience of getting my own place and getting it ready to live in. I am greatful to my higher power for giving me this opourtunity.

Beach Hut

Life in the beach hut is nice, very realxing and peaceful. But one thing I know now is I cannot live with children! I have no tolleance for kids who thow sand at you and get on your nerves. I have spent time realxing and getting a tan in the sun. When swimming in the ocean for the first time in my life, but don't really like salt water (yuck). Been meeting people from all over europe and managed to meet a guy who is staying in the same hut area who is from Montreal which is really cool. Nice being away from substance and still able to enjoy life and meet new people. Wishing everyone in the world a happy holi and may god be with you.

SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTNMENT

When we come to the program we are like birds without wings. We loose all our sense of sanity. We are completely void of a spiritual life. It is something we cannot figure out , but there is a solution . When we come into treatment we first recover physically and then we start to gain some amount of Spiritual confidence, but gradually.
May be it is inevitable that we cannot change our mental state of mind, but we can change our self into good living by following the path of 'Spirituality' .
Recovery opens new windows into a life more than getting high or drunk. We begin to enjoy small things, which previously did not even give value to. Spirituality is the way out and the only way, if we take it seriously we can achieve 'Spiritual Enlightenment' .